MANILA—The name Evelio B. Javier has re-emerged in headlines, following the postponement of an event planned by the camp of presidential candidate Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. in Antique province.

Marcos' camp said that its scheduled February 24 rally was moved "in the spirit of peace and unity" and was supposed to be held at Binirayan Sports Complex in the capital of San Jose de Buenavista.

Earlier reports indicated that the event was held off following protests by residents on social media. It was also reported that the rally was supposed to be held at the Evelio B. Javier Freedom Park, not Binirayan Sports Complex.

• Marcos camp: Antique rally postponed, not cancelled

The park was where gunmen, allegedly under orders from former assemblyman Arturo Pacificador, shot dead Javier on February 11, 1986. Pacificador was an ally of the late dictator Ferdinand E. Marcos, being a member of the Kilusang Bagong Lipunan party.

"Let's look at what would have happened if they had gone through [with the event]," said one of Javier's two sons, Gideon, in an interview with ABS-CBN News. "It would've been insulting."

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Who was Evelio B. Javier?

Attorney Evelio B. Javier, born October 14, 1942 in Hamtic, Antique, was a staunch supporter of the late President Corazon Aquino.

Javier is considered by some Panay Island residents as their own "Ninoy Aquino", as his death was seen as one of the catalysts leading to the EDSA People Power Revolution on February 25, 1986.

Javier started his political career in 1971, when he became governor of Antique through a landslide vote. He was the country's youngest governor at 28 years old, and would stay in office until 1980.

In 1984, he ran as assemblyman for his province, though he was declared to have lost to Pacificador amid allegations of election fraud. In May that year, 7 of Javier's supporters were also killed in what would be known as the Sibalom Bridge Massacre.

Gideon recalled the pressure his father was under, being pursued by men under Pacificador.

"My father could not sleep at night," he said. "He had to go from house to house to sleep. He couldn't go home because they were watching him there. They even had a helicopter flying overhead, looking for his . . . Would you believe he just had a blue Ford Fiera and yet a helicopter looking to find him?"

"The terror under which people lived was incredible," he added.

According to Gideon, his father wasn't initially an Aquino supporter, but eventually he became one of the people who helped the opposition decide on a single standard bearer to run against then President Marcos.

"People like my father, who were younger, much younger than me now — my father was in his early 40s — said, 'Come on, guys. You guys there please stop jockeying for who's going to be president. We just need someone, anyone, behind who we can unify. And they united behind Cory," he said.

The elder Javier then went back to Antique to campaign for Aquino in the 1986 snap election. On the day he was killed, Gideon said the late former governor was holding a vigil outside the provincial capitol so that ballots and election returns wouldn't be stolen like in previous polls.

"He was shot in the arm just to rattle him so they could shoot him as he ran down the street," Gideon said. "Rather than run into the capitol to take shelter, he ran away to draw [away] the killers."

Pacificador was accused of masterminding the assassination. The Seattle Times reported that he received a million pesos from the Marcoses 5 days after Javier was killed.

Since 1987, the day of Javier's death has been commemorated on Panay Island as Governor Evelio B. Javier Day, where residents take the time to remember his heroism.

Meanwhile, the Philippine Daily Inquirer reported in 2015 that Pacificador died on January 11 that year. He passed away after evading arrest for over a decade. He was acquitted in the Javier case in 2004. Only his 8 co-accused were found guilty.

The governor as a person

When told how his father was a towering figure in Antique's history, Gideon smiled.

"Towering is a funny word," he said. "He was 5 foot 8. Not so tall."

The son described his father as a "decent and open-minded" man.

"He was temperate. I mean, to give you an idea of temperate, one time I ran at him like I was gonna do a football tackle, I hit him so hard he almost crashed to the ground. And all he said was, 'Don't do this to your mother.' So he really had that temperance," Gideon said.

He added that the late governor was also a father who gave his children the freedom to think for themselves.

"He would tell you things. This is how this works, this is how that works. I got a lot of my ability to do things from my father simply by analyzing, by thinking, and by doing almost impossible things just because he said this is how it works, you can do it."

Gideon earlier recalled on social media how his father helped build the Binirayan Sports Complex for the purpose of holding the festival of the same name.

Despite lacking funds due to his refusal to kowtow to then President Marcos, Javier wanted to uplift Antiqueños who were culturally depressed amid a diaspora to nearby Negros Island and even outside the country.

"So my father said, 'Guys, together as a province, what we can at least do is look at our proud heritage. We are where the 10 datus from Borneo landed. Let us have a yearly festival where we celebrate this'," Gideon said. "And that was a big thing then."

According to Gideon, the Binirayan Sports Complex's original structure, carved out of La Granja Hill, still stands to this day.

"This place became where all of that took place, and to make it happen without so much money, people pitched in and it was wonderful," he said.

Fundamental decency

Gideon, who was 16 when his father died, is a Harvard graduate and businessman living outside Antique. He has also thrown his support behind the candidacy of Vice-President Leni Robredo.

When asked why, he cited what he called Robredo's "fundamental decency," and how Robredo conducts herself compared to some government officials.

"The level of arrogance of these people and the absolute callous disregard for the Filipino people is so incredible, it's sickening. It feels just like the Marcos times," he said.

He called on other Filipinos to avoid talking down on people they were campaigning for, saying they should instead try to understand why the other person was voting for this or that candidate.

"Don't terrorize people with your superiority," he said. "Be decent, be their colleagues. And let us bring this country together as a democracy, to start making choices rationally rather than as a reflex to fear, propaganda, money, and manipulation."